


Four Beers From Home

by Highlander_II



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Book 13: Ghost Story, Book 14: Cold Days, Gen, Yuletide 2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-02 04:33:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2799707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highlander_II/pseuds/Highlander_II
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's back and someone's noticed, so he drops in to say hello.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Beers From Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alashandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alashandra/gifts).



> ... and thanks to a beta to be credited later.

I opened the door, expecting room service. What I got was a fist to my face. Right across my jaw. I'm not going to lie. It hurt.

"Ow," I said unnecessarily.

"Asshole," the man on the other side of the door snarled at me. At least, I think that's the correct translation from Spanish. Even if it's not, that was the general idea.

"Okay, I deserve that... I think," I replied, holding my jaw. "Could you tell me why?" I added and invited him in. I got a beer from the mini-fridge and pressed it against my jaw.

Carlos Ramirez stalked into the room, all Latin-swagger and exuding confidence, then waited for me to close the door. "Next time you plan a mission to save the world that you're going to follow up with killing yourself, call me. At least give me the chance to tell you to fuck off."

"Ramirez -" I started to say something; to explain what had happened, but finished with, "I'm sorry." I'd already gotten a similar 'welcome back' from Thomas. I knew the drill. Besides, I couldn't argue with him. He was right. I was an asshole for not telling people what was going on.

Carlos gaped at me. Literally – mouth open and eyes wide. "Am I in the right room?"

"If you're looking for Harry Dresden – Asshole to his Friends, then, yes." After talking to Thomas, yeah, I felt like an asshole.

"So, what happened to you, man?"

I pushed a hand through my hair and dropped onto the end of the bed. "How long've you got?"

He made a point of looking at his wrist as though he wore a watch. Then he shrugged. "I got time." He pulled up a chair and took a seat.

I put the beer from my face back and got us a couple of fresh beers out of the fridge – sadly not Mac's ale like I would prefer, but beggars and choosers and all that. Then I recounted the major plot points of the last couple years. They weren't pretty, but they were the truth. And it was a lot harder than I'd thought it would be, but at the same time, I really needed to talk about it.

"Thanks, Carlos," I said when I was finished.

He frowned over his beer at me, confused more than anything else. "Sure, man. For what?"

"Letting me talk." I hadn't realized how much I needed to just talk to someone. Even if they didn't understand it all. Even if they never said a word. Sometimes my friends are a lot smarter than I am.

Ramirez nodded and sipped his beer. "I'm good at listening," he said with a wide grin.

He didn't have to be so damned smug about it. Even if it did feel really good to get it all out there and maybe un-fuck some of my personal relationships.

It was quiet in the room for several minutes, then Ramirez asked me, "So, were you actually dead?"

A legitimate question. I'd asked it myself. "Sort of?" I said. "It's complicated. And, I don't know that I fully understand myself."

"You wanna talk about something else?"

"Hell yes," I sighed and drank from my beer.

Ramirez sipped his own beer, supposedly pondering a new subject. It was quiet for a while again, but it wasn't that awkward sort of quiet. It was that friendly, nice quiet. The kind you always want to be able to have with your friends.

"When are we gonna reanimate another dinosaur? That was pretty awesome," he said, waving the beer in my general direction.

I grinned at him. That had been one of my more inventive tactics. "I'm all out of dinosaurs. Might be able to scrounge up a rat though."

He made a face. "No thanks."

We were interrupted by another knock. This time it was room service. I'd ordered a lot of food – because I couldn't decide what I'd wanted. That didn't really seem to be a problem. Ramirez helped me put away most of it.

We spent the meal talking about anything and everything. All the women who had the hots for him; new tricks we'd learned with magic; movies or TV shows we'd managed to get glimpses of without killing the technology. Basic, everyday friend stuff. It was nice. I'd missed conversations like that.

It wasn't until we were sitting on the floor, leaning up against the foot of the bed, third or fourth beer of the night resting on the floor beside me, and I could feel the warmth of his body pressed lightly against mine, that I realized something else. It had been a really long time since I'd been with someone that I really cared about.

Not necessarily in a sexual or romantic context. I've missed my friends.

Ramirez picked up on that. For a long series of minutes, he sat close, his shoulder against mine, his leg resting close to mine. And it wasn't weird. It was just us. Just talking.

"Harry," he said, "I've missed you, man. Even before you died."

I looked away for a moment. That made me feel a little like shit. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I could give you a dozen excuses – some of them good even, but..." I shrugged and he slugged me in the arm.

"I'm not angry, dumbass," he said, shaking his head. "We've all been busy."

I nodded. That made me feel better. Knowing that my friends are still my friends is pretty important. Especially now. I may need their help some day.

"I'll try to make a point of dropping you a line from time-to-time," I said. "I'll even pick you up on my dinosaur – if I go that route again."

Ramirez nodded and turned up his beer. "I'm holding you to that. Pass me another. We're gonna be here a while."

We were. All night and into the morning.

And you know what, it was one of the best nights I'd ever spent with another human being.


End file.
